Posts

Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids (Courage Tales) Dagmara Sitek and Lau Frank – Review by Roxsanne Lesieur.

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loris is a young child who comes into a new foster family, there are already two children there and they try to get Loris to join in with their everyday activities.

They try to get him to talk during mealtimes, join in at school and one of the things that Loris is invited to take part in, is a race, but he just stays in his room, or on his own with his hood up.

What happened in Loris’s life and will he ever open up to his new family? This is a tale of kindness, compassion and understanding where young children can safely explore difficult emotions and open up themselves.

Reviewed by @roxsannel

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Shannen Kern

Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids (Courage Tales)Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the first book I’d read by this author, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was blown away by how amazing it was! I read this with both of my kids who are 8 and 12 years old, and they loved it as well. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and really add depth to the story. It helped keep my youngest’s attention as well. This is such a beautiful book about resilience and the turbulent times that children can encounter. I especially loved that this focuses on foster kids because they do see the world differently, but they still need love, care, and attention. Sometimes they put up that wall of isolation to stay safe, and this story really shows how to support someone going through that. I highly recommend picking this up for your classroom, library, or home to share with the younger ones in your life. It teaches empathy and emotions as well as different situations that others go through.

Reviewed by @shannlynn

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Hannah Porter

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first time reading Dagmara Sitek. I’m sooo happy I did. It has great artwork, the colors really contrast perfectly together and the visual of the main characters’ feelings was excellently done. This book was a great match for tonight’s read as my nephew was in foster care. It was a good representation to show him that he wasn’t alone and not to hold his emotions in, and that it’s okay to let people in. you could he that he was really intrigued while we were reading I look forward to reading more work from this author 😀

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Rita White

This is such a great book for young children. I have read several of this authors books and they have all been fantastic to read to my granddaughter. The illustrations are fabulous as always. The story is so heart felt and genuine and told in such a great way for children to understand.

Loris Opens Up His Heart, Courage Tales Series, Dagmara Sitek, Review, Itsy Bitsy Book Bits, Kids, Family

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this. It’s about a child who is lost and unhappy and how the simple hand of friendship can make the world of difference to how a child is feeling. It’s about kids showing bravery and strength, it tells us how children should behave and will help children talk about how they are feeling. It’s aimed at young children but the message portrayed in it can be for anyone of any age to take note of.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Candice Estes

Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids (Courage Tales)Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loris is a foster child who is not sure who to trust, and prefers to stay to himself. When he comes to live with Cam, Inaya, and their mother, he struggles to adjust to a home life that is so different from the bad home life he is used to. Cam and Inaya try to involve Loris in the fundraiser run that they are organizing for a friend, but he doesn’t feel safe joining in until Cam is being bullied, and then he stands up for his new foster siblings. This book may not have the “warm fuzzies” from the beginning, but by the end, you will find yourself feeling for Loris and his journey. This is a great book for young kids, and for teaching children about foster children situations and the emotions that can come from it. I feel like this is also a good way to help people of any age to remember that you don’t know the full story of someone’s life, so being kind and being there for them, and not leaving them in their time of struggle, is often the most help you can give them.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Anantha Rusum

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the most beautiful reads in the recent times. The story is centered around the emotions felt by a boy in a foster care, Loris. When he finally finds his forever home, Loris is reluctant and unwilling to run a charity cause. When they dig deeper, there are plethora of emotions, anger, fear of being left alone,fear and frustration. It is a very emotional read which tugs at your heart. I am going to reread this book again with my whole family.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Melissa Saxton

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a touching story!
Loris has been in the foster system after a really terrible home life. He has trust issues and refuses to open up to anyone.
He moves to a home with a new family that includes Cam, Inaya, and their foster mom. He initially refuses to open up whatsoever as he doesn’t trust anyone.
His heart however slowly opens the more time he spends with this family and the story illustrates the beauty and bravery of opening up your heart even when it’s scary.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Micalah Weatherholtz

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loris opens up his heart by Dagmara Sitek was a precious, meaningful, heartwarming, important children’s story. The story focuses on Loris, who is a foster child, who doesn’t want to open up to his new family because he doesn’t feel like he belongs even though they invite him to participate and include him in their fun. It’s not until his foster brother is having trouble finishing a race to raise money for a sick young girls treatment that he uncovers himself, opens up his heart, and finishes the race for everyone. This is definitely an emotional story and could also potentially be a triggering one, but it shows the importance of acceptance, forgiveness, and new beginnings. The illustrations throughout the book were wonderfully done as well. There were a few instances that the dialogue sounded disjointed as if maybe the authors first language was something other than English, but it wasn’t a big deal. Wonderful book.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Crystal Brehant

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek

There are not a lot of books that deal with the tough subject of foster care. This is a great one with beautiful illustrations for children! Loris has been through a lot in his short life. He has completely shut down because of it. He moves in with a foster family and just refuses to participate in anything. Find out how he opens up in this beautiful and heartwarming story. There is a lot of emotions dealt with in this book. From anger, to frustration, pain and loneliness. You will see courage and standing up to a bully.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Terri Jo McAllister

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an emotional book about a young boy, Loris, who is in foster care and the struggles he faces as he learns to accept his new family. This would be an excellent resource for children going into a fostering family, as well as for the fostering families and their own children as they accept a new member to the family.

Review by Terri Jo McAllister
View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Melissa Fink

https://www.amazon.com/review/R10P3AYM7YN7D4/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_SRTC0204BT_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For KidsLoris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loris Opens Up His Heart starts out sad, but it has a happy ending! The pictures were beautiful. I love the message the story had. My 10 year old enjoyed this book. If you havent read a Lois Wickstrom book to your kids, I recommend this one.

View all my reviews
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3534099974

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Brandy Vaughn

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a nice illustrated book about a tough subject. I like how Loris was able to share with his new foster family his feelings. The tale was tough but ended in a happily ever after for all the characters!

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Karole Petty

Mealtime at the Zoo: PB&J CaféMealtime at the Zoo: PB&J Café by James Williamson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I am always looking for new storybooks for my grandchildren, this one hit all the must haves for a good childrens book. The illustrations are beautiful and the story moved right along. Liked the interesting facts about animals eating habits! Will be passing this book around to parents and grandparents that are looking for a good wholesome read.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Julie Johnson

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a very emotional read! This is a book that I would STRONGLY recommend reading with your youngster, at least the first time they read it. It’s a story that really needs to be told but is highly emotional as previously mentioned.

Loris is in foster care and this books focuses on the emotions that he goes through with each move he has to make. It takes a lot of courage to be Loris but there are so many of them out there! It’s important to have conversations with kids reading this story to explore their emotions and feelings after hearing Loris’s plight.

The illustrations in this story are very colorful and really add to the story more. To see Loris’s transformation is pretty cool.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Dawn Daughenbaugh

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 Stars
Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek

Loris Opens Up His Heart is part of the Courage Tales Series. This is a heartwarming children’s book about courage and compassion. It’s about the heartache of feeling not wanted and being shuffled from foster home to foster home. My brother and sister in law are foster parents and they’ve had several children who came into their home broken. A little love and showing compassion goes a long way. My son and I loved reading this book and we definitely had strong emotions for Loris and all he’s been through. I highly recommend reading this book. This is a newer author to us but they’ve definitely gotten new fans with us.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Tausha Treadway

Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For KidsLoris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek . This is a great children’s book that includes information about something a little deeper than most children’s books. It’s a story that teaches kids its ok to have feelings and its ok to deal with them. It’s the story of Loris who has been sent to a new foster home and the kids there are super excited, Loris is not as excited and is very quiet and not opening up to them. Inaya & Cam are his foster siblings and when Cam begins to get bullied, Loris stands up for him. After Loris stands up to the bully he tells his foster siblings his story and why he is so withdrawn and not open. It teaches kids that when before you judge someone you should find out more about them so you know what they have been thru. Loris learns that after he opens up to his siblings he can be more open in other relationships too. I feel like this is a very important book for kids to read in this day and age!

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Elizabeth Sanchez

Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids (Courage Tales)Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loris Opens Up His Heart is a picture book for children, to give a gentle, but emotional, introduction to Foster Care- as well as sensitive situations surrounding it. I read it to my 8 year old and he didn’t have any negative reactions. He did first interpret Loris’s attitude and behavior as many others might- as “mean” or “grumpy.” But, by the end, he understood, which I think is the purpose of this book. It helps kids understand that emotions and behaviors might have an underlying cause. You don’t know what someone has been through, so you shouldn’t judge them based off first impressions. Loris is placed with a new family, and is quiet and reserved. His new “siblings” continue to be by his side and offer their help, repeatedly. Eventually, Loris warms up to them and shares a bit about his past. Once he gets that off his chest, and is not judged harshly, he opens up to the family. I love the discussion this book sparked between my son and I after completion.

View all my reviews

Reviewed by @way2gosmartguy

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Santana Hicks

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Inaya and Cam are excited to be getting a new foster brother named Loris. Unfortunately Loris wants nothing to do with them. Being used to the foster system, they realize he may just need time to adjust.

As time goes on, Loris still isn’t opening up to them. That is until Cam gets bullied and Loris stands up to the bully. After that Loris tells his foster siblings his story. He realizes that fear was standing in his way of forming new relationships and it’s time to let those fears go.

This story packed a punch. The illustrations are very nicely done and the story itself is quite powerful. It teaches kids about kindness and emotions. There are little to no kids books about abuse and/or foster care which makes this book a gem.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Trish Ann

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a nice children’s book that I could see kids that I teach reading. There is a good message and the illustrations are appealing. It made a difficult topic digestible and understandable for the age target. The description says ages 5-10 but this is something that would be best read together not as an independent read if you are using it as a tool for support. I did appreciate the topic since more and more children are experiencing situations where they are in the care of someone other than their parents.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Katie Matthews

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a really lovely read and one that really did open up my thinking about how children must feel when they are moved around the care system. I really felt for Loris, he was so shut down when he went to his new foster home but thankfully with the help of his new foster brother and sister he was able to see that he was safe now and could finally be himself and help to open his heart to other people around him.
There was so much in this story that would be great to talk to the children reading about it – it will definitely help children to empathise with children like Loris.
A really good book and one I would recommend.

@katiem
View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Dr. Anya Schultz

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a really good book about a foster family gaining a new family member. A pair of foster siblings, at the beginning, are trying to get ready for a race that will help their foster sister who has heart issues. When they came home from passing out flyers, their foster mom introduced them to a new foster sibling, Loris. Loris is mysterious and doesn’t speak to anyone. The story talks about how he is always scared and that stems from his stepfather. He struggles with being shy, fear, anger, and confusion about why his parents had to leave him. However, he helps his siblings by standing up to a bully that was bothering them. His siblings are grateful and try to help him in return by teaching him that there are positive things that he could look toward instead of always being scared and angry. They start to build a bond that helps Loris break out of his shell and ends up being able to help his sick sister by being the hero of the race. This book seemed to address some issues that children may have, especially foster children. There was discussion of normalizing some of the negative feelings these children might have, but then also talking about the positive aspects that can occur too. I think the book does a good job of showing that a foster care situation doesn’t always have to be scary or negative.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Tanya Wall, April 2024

Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids (Courage Tales)Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loris Open Up His Heart is a book in the Courage Tales series. The illustrations are colorful and fun. While it’s aimed at kids aged 5 to 10, its lessons are timeless and can be appreciated by everyone.

The story centers on Loris, a foster child who’s been through a lot, leading him to close off his heart. But when he finds himself in a loving home with Cam and Inaya, he learns to open up again. Along the way, they tackle tough topics like bullying, friendship, and what it means to be a family.

Through their journey to prepare for a charity race, we see acts of bravery and kindness that touch the heart. The way the story is told is engaging and full of empathy, making it a great read for both kids and adults alike.

Loris Open Up His Heart isn’t just a kids’ book; it’s a story about resilience and the power of love. With its relatable characters and meaningful message, it’s sure to warm the hearts of readers of all ages

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Robin Rankin

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids (Courage Tales)

My husband and I have our 4 yr old grandson over as much as possible. Thankfully he has been asking me to read more books to him, when I sae this I knew I had to check it out for him.

While the book is written for an age group just a touch younger he is, he liked it, was engaged and made comments at the appropriate time.

Courage is something kids his age really need, hope with enough repetition he will understand the message. On top of the story the illustrations are so good and match up perfectly.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Michelle Troyer

Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids (Courage Tales)Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loris is a foster child in a new home. He is sad and angry of what has happened in his past. Cam and Inaya try to make him feel welcome. When Cam gets hurt, Loris steps up to the plate and helps out and ends up having fun. He is finding out what it means to have someone care about him. Good book.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Stephanie Robb

Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids (Courage Tales)Loris Opens Up His Heart: An Emotional Story For Kids by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved the way the story was laid out with the illustrations and speech bubble style. It is a great story for children to learn about speaking your truth and opening up to others. It is perfect for primary age children to learn these important values.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Ashley Lape

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This touching children’s book is a great read. It’s a great book for beginner readers. The journey in this book follows three young children Loris, Cam, and Inaya as they train for a race to raise money for a fellow student. Loris is a new foster child in the house so he tries to keep to himself but when Cam needs help at the race Loris is there to save the race! It is a great story of courage, hope, selflessness, and resilience.

View all my reviews

reviewed by @alape

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Krista Moulthrop

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was such a great story about how some kids in foster care struggle with their trauma and are afraid to open up. Loris is hesitant to open his heart and tell his story. He doesn’t want to get comfortable in another temporary place. But his new siblings do not give up on him and show him that he is brave and amazing.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Kerry Baker

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is such a wonderful, emotional and heartwarming story. It is one that we all, as a family, loved reading together. They characters are brilliant and engaging and lovely to read about. This is also a book that I enjoyed personally reading, even though it is not aimed at me as an audience. It was so nice to see a book after a foster child and I think the author handled the sensitive topic which such ease.
This was an unexpectedly fantastic story and for once it is one that even I am looking forward to reading multiple times. I loved how it taught my kids something more than they usually get from these kind of books. We will definitely be looking into more books from this author.

View all my reviews

Loris Opens Up His Heart (Courage Tales Series Book #1) by Dagmara Sitek – Review by Dagmara Sitek

Loris Opens Up His HeartLoris Opens Up His Heart by Dagmara Sitek
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 Stars

 

Loris Open Up His Heart is the first book in the Courage Tales series by Dagmara Sitek who has lovingly crafted a wonderfully meaningful children’s story (with lovely colourful illustrations that help to bring the story to life by Lau Frank).
The story is aimed at children aged 5 to 10 years-old — but I feel there is value to the story that will ensure that the book can be enjoyed and appreciated by all ages.
This is not only a cute tale but teaches valuable life lessons along the way. Loris hasn’t had an easy life and as a result has ‘closed-off his heart’. When he is placed with a loving, supportive family, he learns to ‘open up his heart’ again. Along the way he, along with his foster family, teach us about emotional intelligence and how to deal with strong emotions such as anger, frustration, loneliness, and hurt. It also shows how opening yourself up to ‘new’ and scary experiences can have wonderful results. The story touches on topics such as bullying, making friends, the meaning of family (and that family doesn’t always mean you have to be ‘blood’ related), having compassion/empathy, being kind/generous, being helpful, being brave/resilient/patient/tenacious, and finding purpose in life. I really felt for Loris and what he had been through. I was so happy that he found a family that made him feel like he was safe enough to open up his heart again. I really wanted to give him the biggest, squishiest hugs.
This was such a lovely, heartwarming story that left me with all the ‘feel-good’ vibes of a meaningful story.
Looking forward to reading the rest of the series…

Thank you, Dagmara Sitek!

 

Reviewed by @angelahayes

View all my reviews